Indigenous Canadians and Reconciliation with Crystal Lavallee

Credit: Faytene Show

June 21st was National Indigenous People’s Day in Canada, a day to celebrate the rich heritage of our nation’s Indigenous peoples.

Since 2008, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper led Members of Parliament from all parties in a formal apology for the abuses of residential schools, the issue of national reconciliation has been at the forefront.

The 2008 Apology launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It was tasked with documenting the abuses and their impacts. The TRC detailed 94 calls to action to help bring deeper reconciliation.

In 2021, Indigenous Canadians accounted for 5% of our total population, just under 2 million.

The Indigenous population grew 9.4% from 2016 to 2021, almost twice the pace of growth of non-Indigenous Canadians over that same time period.

According to Stats Canada, they are expected to reach 3 million in the next 20 years.

Over half of First Nations people live in Western Canada, and almost a quarter live in Ontario.

Indigenous peoples and their stories are an integral part of our past, present, and future. This is why I’m excited about the work of our guest today.

Crystal Lavallee is Métis and served as the producer of “First Peoples Voices” with 100 Huntley Street. She is also the Founder and the Director of I Am Compelled. This educational charity uses multimedia presentations to tell the history of Canada from various angles and teach students to give back to their community.

She recently completed a documentary regarding the 1885 Frog Lake Massacre in Saskatchewan and is here today to share all about it and how we, as Canadians, can continue to walk in truth and reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Thank you for joining us.